Leif wrote:I think many here can describe themselves as amateur field mycologists. It is harder to engage in other areas of mycology, such as taxonomy, or DNA analysis. In the past many amateurs contributed substially to mycology. Peter Orton comes to mind, a very talented person, but a school teacher by trade. And somewhat myopic by all accounts. I am sure amateurs can still make a worthwhile contribution, by recording fungi, sending specimens to Kew, recording new arrivals to the UK and so on. It does seem to be a Cinderalla science. For my own part, just reading about small red capped boletes is enough to drive me to drink.

If you don't have it Geoffrey Kibby's Boletes book is very good but I still have problems!

I have in the past used keys on Leccinum and other boletes only to find later that other books come to different conclusions, and DNA analysis gives another story. Some are easy, but brown capped Leccinum and small red capped boletes are challenging, for want of a better word. Too much relies on subtle morphological differences, when fungi are naturally very variable.

I think that the mycologist - amateur or professional - has to be perhaps the most dedicated of all the varieties of "natural history" enthusiasts. Fungi must be the most difficult of all the macro-organisms, in the UK at least. But they are fascinating! Their biology is remarkable (and they've taxed the taxonomists for decades), they can be eerily beautiful, and occasionally delicious.
I've never attempted to specialise in any wildlife group (though I admit a particular fondness for Adders), but as an interested novice I not only enjoy seeing, photographing, and trying to identify them; I find that the discussions they prompt (here and on other sites) are amongst the most erudite and informative on any subject.
I also think that a certain amount of optimism - and definitely a sense of humour - are essential requisites.

If you think fungi are tough, try Springtails - Collembola. And there are others equally tough.
One of the unfortunate things is there are so few resources and experts, unlike fungi...............
This might give an idea of them in terms of numbers and variety:http://ws1.roehampton.ac.uk/collembola/ ... index.html
Cheers
Ken